The Centurion
by Carribu
Summary: Torre Deathblood is a lazy yet powerful necromancer and a centurion of the Iron Legion. One day he gets pulled into a mission and is forced to learn that everyone needs to be serious sometimes. Especially when you're protecting those most dear to you.
1. The Meeting

"You're too soft, soldier." "Hardly." The female charr bristled at the comment. She grabbed the charr's shoulder and hauled him into the wall. The Black Citadel was bustling and charr were almost always fighting someone. This was normal for charr to be aggressive towards each other but this one seemed arrogant. "That sounds like a lot of disrespect." "I don't owe anything to you. Especially my time which you stole from me with your useless jabber. Get out of my sight." Her eyes grew with rage. Drawing her sword, she tilted it to his chin. "Normally, I would sever your head for talking to me like that. But I'll be generous. You will address me as your superior. I am Glycia Pyrefang, legionnaire of the Pyre warband of the Blood Legion and I don't take kindly to trash like you." The charr rolled his eyes and pulled out his scepter. "There's one problem with your statement." He gripped around his scepter and made a slamming motion down towards the ground. A murky green and brown sludge seeped up from the base of the iron paved walkways of the Black Citadel. The female charr lurched back, stammering. "W-what is t-this?" Skeletal hands reached through and grabbed onto her ankles. He stood, slipping his scepter back into his loop. "My name is Torre Deathblood, centurion of the Iron Legion, and you have officially wasted my time."

It was easy to forget Torre was a centurion. The female wasn't wrong – he was lazy, to a point. He didn't like spending too much time in one place, which was why he didn't stay stationed in the Black Citadel. Paperwork was boring and tedious. His warband was on active duty near the Brand and it was a lot of effort to trek out there. He was a great inventor but that was only if he was motivated to create anything. He wasn't worried about his position. Smodur had dealt with Torre before and gotten the results he wanted. As long as Torre produced the results he expected, Smodur had more important things to deal with than a lazy centurion. He grunted as he walked up the path. It was also uncommon to see a necromancer in the Iron Legion. Torre had a tendency to stick out among his fellow charr as the Iron Legion was filled with engineers and rangers.

"Centurion Deathblood."

He turned at the sound of his name and the charr, probably an errand runner, looked slightly startled when he looked over. Torre stood as one of the tallest charr in the Black Citadel. He had a sleek mess of black fur shooting through his ridged horns and down his neck. Smoke gray fur with wild black stripes covered his body. But the real standout feature of Torre was his eyes. Bright green, like a peridot in direct sunlight. "Speak."

"The Imperator wishes to speak with you, sir. Something about a mission."

Torre felt his eyes roll slightly. Missions meant leaving the citadel, dealing with angry people who were too loud, and someone almost always died.

"Does he actually need me or can it wait."

"He said to, um, report to him right away…sir!"

"Don't call me sir."

Torre walked off towards the center of the citadel. Charr brushed past him as he lumbered into the main hub and went up towards to the top. It had to be a pretty important mission if the Imperator was calling on him personally. Torre debated on pushing for a tribune to do the work but that would mean convincing a tribune and then not only would he owe the tribune a favor, he would have to do double the work to work off the mission he traded off. The imperator would have his hide for that. The imperator was speaking to two non-charr when Torre arrived. One was human and the other was sylvari, both female. Torre grunted. _Great, not only are they not charr but they're both women_, he thought. "I think that Centurion Deathblood will be an excellent addition to your excursion. He's familiar enough with the terrain that he can act as a guide. Ah, here he is now!" Torre walked forward, with a bored look in his eye. "The only guiding I'll do is guiding myself out of here." The tribune walked towards him with a forced laugh and grabbed him by the scruff of his neck like he was a cub. "Oh this one is always cracking jokes which is funny because I like cracking skulls!" Torre kept his mouth shut. He was annoyed but he wasn't that annoyed. "I apologize for his behavior, commander." "Oh that's fine! He's funny!" Commander?

Sure enough, the imperator would already have his hide for speaking like that in front of the Commander of the Pact. Torre had only heard of her but she was supposedly one of the most powerful people in Tyria. The Marshal's second-in-command, the Commander was sort of his hand throughout Tyria. She oversaw missions while he was away and often held control of certain fortresses. But he wasn't expecting someone so…bubbly. Her hair was the color of hot melted mithril – hot enough that it almost glowed white but you could still see the blue sheen of the ore. Her eyes were a soft and vibrant lilac and thickly lined with a cosmetic kohl. For someone who wielded massive amounts of power in Tyria, she was also incredibly short. "You're Torre, correct?" she said. "My name is Brulent, but please call me Bru. The commander title nonsense is for the higher ups but we're friends!" Torre raised a brow. "Not to be rude, but we just met and you're already classifying us as friends?" Smodur slightly tightened his grip on Torre's neck and whispered quickly in his ears. "I don't care if she wants the two of you to have a damn tea party, if she wants you as her friend then you're her friend." "Oh Imperator you're so fussy with him! There's no need to hold him like that." Smodur let go when he heard the sylvari speak.

The sylvari with Bru stepped forward. She was roughly the same height as the commander but she was purple. Most sylvari were various colors of the rainbow so that was no surprise. Her eyes were a bright verdant green, like a proud willow tree. Both the commander and her companion had pieces of Carapace armor on them. _So they saw action in the Silverwastes_, he thought. He knew the commander was active in fighting Mordremoth but he wasn't aware of who the plant was. "Oh where are my manners, let me introduce her. This is Torreyace, my best friend and partner." The sylvari smiled brightly and did a soft bow. "Partner…so you two are…?" Torre asked. The two looked at each other and Bru gave Torre a confused and vague smile. "What? Us? Oh that's impossible, right Torrey?" "Oh yes, impossible. Quite!" The two giggled with each other and Torre rolled his eyes. They were those kind of friends. "I met Torrey when I was working with the Durmand Priory a few years ago. She's a scholar there and we partnered up to work on studying dragon essences. We've been inseparable ever since."

Torre loosened himself away from the imperator, using the casual dialogue as his getaway. "So what is this mission that I was volunteered for," he said flatly. Bru's soft look held as she began speaking. "As you may know, Tribune Brimstone and Captain Logan Thackeray raided the Citadel of Flame and took down Imperator Baelfire. We have reason to believe that they are trying to revive him and are using destroyer magic to do so. The Pact had Whispers agents obtain Flame Legion plans and if what we've found is true, they intend to imbue Baelfire with the essence of Primordus." Torre became slightly more alert. The Flame Legion were already scum and now they wanted to mix with destroyer magic? They were all too desperate for more power.

"So where do I come in with all of this," he asked. Torreyace was the one to speak next. "Your job is to guide us through Fireheart Rise and breach Provatum Castrum and Senecus Castrum. Those two strongholds contain both their ritual space and their destroyer energy. If they complete the ritual, Baelfire will be able to hold ground in the Citadel of Flame once more. Torre Deathblood, will you take this mission?" She looked into his eyes, her light scorching upon his dark. Torre glanced at the imperator, who stared him down and searched him for any signs of defiance. "If I don't take this mission, the imperator will beat me down. I'm in." Smodur let out a light grunt of approval and Bru cheered. "Excellent! We leave tomorrow morning!" The commander and her companion bolted over to give Torre a large hug, startling him. "This is…uncomfortable."


	2. The Story

"So, what's the quickest way to get to Fireheart Rise?"

"Torre?"

"What."

"We're asking for your help!"

"What a silly goose!" "I know!"

Torre grunted. This had been going on for two days now. They had set up a camp in the plains outside of the Black Citadel. The past two days had felt like two years with the two of them. They finished each other's sentences and exchanged glances and giggles. It was irritating.

"We have to go to the north east area of the plains. There's a ruined human castle near there. The ruins formed a cave passage that allows us to get into the Iron Marches. There will be a trek up north and then we will be in Fireheart Rise."

"So we aren't there yet?"

"We are not there yet."

"Oh poo."

He had a hard time believing that this human was the second in command of the Pact and that the plant was her partner. They tried to play with some of the wildlife only for the wildlife to attack them. They were always asking Torre to tell them stories before they went to bed. By the Khan-Ur, he was basically a cubsitter, not a guide.

The next day, they began walking past the ghost chambers of what was known as the Ascalonian Catacombs. It was a hard place for Torre to pass but he managed to keep going past it. Bru had wanted to leave at night but Torre insisted that they go during the day, when there were more active charr patrols.

"Ghosts are rampant in southern Ascalon. If we can avoid dealing with them, we will."

"Ghosts…human ghosts," Bru said faintly. _This is probably hard for her too_, he thought. He noticed she had a huge scarf around her neck. She wore it day and night. "Can I ask about the scarf or would that be weird," he said.

"Oh, this? I bought a few from the Trading Post a few months ago! They come blank, so I purchased some dyes to decorate them with. They're awfully cozy." The scarf was a bright and clean white with stripes of antique gold. "I'll make you one too!" "That's…not necessary." "Oh hush, I'd love to make you one. We're friends, remember?"

She said that word again. Friends.

Torrey was ahead of them when she suddenly stopped. "I smell smoke. Bru, do you have your sword?" "Of course." Torre stopped and sniffed. "That's not just any smoke. It's Flame Legion magic. Step aside."

Torre went ahead of the two and shifted near the cliff on the path. There was an Iron Legion weaponry warehouse here and unfortunately located near a Flame Legion outpost. There were three of them snooping around the entrance. "They're performing a ritual, stay here." Torrey and Bru looked at him and nodded.

Torre sauntered over behind them, gingerly stepping up the ramp to the warehouse. He was almost proud of how quiet he was, he could almost be Ash trash. "It seems we have a few intruders here." The Flame charr whipped around to see Torre standing there. "I'm not sure how I feel about Flame scum wandering around here, but I'd sure as hell love to set an example."

The middle charr, probably the leader, gave Torre a gross looking grin. "Well if you can't take the heat," he said lighting up his hand in flame, "then maybe we can help make sure you never have to deal with it again." He lunged at Torre's throat, gripping his claws down. Torre flinched with pain and slipped his paw down to his dagger. The other two Flame charr flanked Torre and reached for his side. Torre slammed his dagger into the iron floor at the feet of the two charr. Blood began to drip from their ears and they screamed in agony. The leader let go of Torre in confusion. "You're going to let this weak flesh sack trick you? You're pathetic."

"Weak, that's a new one."

The leader turned back to Torre with a menacing look on his face. "Oh please, come back at me. Make my day," he taunted. Roaring with anger, the leader ran at Torre with burning claws. Torre rolled his eyes. "Too easy."

He grabbed his axe and rolled to the side, narrowly avoiding the leader. He slashed his axe at the charr which made putrid gashes across his body. Torre clenched a fist as he gravitated the axe to make rotational slashes at the leader. The body of the leader fell as Torre slipped his weapons back on his loops. "You'll…regret that you did this…filthy commoner…" the Flame charr huffed out. He slammed his fist down and created a flame pillar. Torre took a step back, taking in the pillar. The spire reached towards the sky with two smoke trails entwined around it. "You…will…pay." "Yeah well," Torre started and reached for his dagger. He walked over and sunk the dagger into the charr's heart. "You're dead." Blood spattered onto his jaw as he pulled the dagger out. "Great. Now I've got to clean this thing. You were more trouble than you were worth."

He walked back to Bru and Torrey who were awestruck. Torrey smiled brightly. "That was fantastic! We knew you were talented but by the Tree, you were just incredible!" "I guess—ah, my damn neck." Bru's smile faded. "We saw. You wanted us to stay here so we didn't interfere but that injury will need healing." Torre groaned. "There's a Priory camp near the entrance to the Catacombs. We can go there if we make good time." Bru gave him the vague smile, the same one she gave him in the Imperator's office. "Torrey can heal you. We just need an open area of water." Water?

Bru and Torrey got on either side of him and lifted up under to support his weight. "There's a lake nearby. If we can clear out the skelk, it should be safe." Bru laughed out loud and Torrey giggled. Torre raised an eyebrow. "Are skelk funny or something." "Oh no, it's just that you said we."

"Yeah."

"As in the three of us?"

"…Yeah."

They laughed again.

"Well are you going to fill me in or are you going to keep laughing."

"You're injured! You're not doing anything!"

"I can still move, you know."

Torrey laughed again. "Quit laughing." She stopped but continued to smile. "You're our guide, but not our bodyguard. We appreciate that you dealt with the Flame Legion but we're a team. Let us help you." Bru nodded.

"Alright alright." They carried his weigh to the lake near the warehouse. Sure enough, there were skelk and devourers surrounding the area. "Alright you stay here. Torrey get your staff." "I'm ready when you are." Torre sat on the rocks while the two of them fought off the skelk. _The salad is an elementalist and the commander is a guardian_, he thought. "Torrey, can you coat them in lava?" "Gladly!" Torrey's hands were wrapped in fire as she gripped the air. A lava font bubbled up slowly from the ground, burning the skelk. Some tried to escape but Bru threw out her blade to chain them back to her. Torre had heard that the commander bore a zenith weapon. The greatsword shimmered in the light and the crystals that made up the blade floated together.

The commander was not someone to mess around with.

They came back grinning with the rush of a good work out. "Ah, let me use those glyphs." She traced her hand in the air and a soft flash lifted up boulders up around them.

Torre raised his eyebrows. She made an earth elemental. "Put him in the lake, please!" The elemental made that weird rock noise that they all made. It managed to obey Torrey and it hauled Torre over its shoulder.

"This is uncomfortable."

"Well of course, it's made of rock!"

The elemental dropped Torre into the water smoothly. "Thanks…I think." "Please go stand watch, we wouldn't want any Flame Legion interrupting." The elemental made a noise again and went back to where they had been fighting. Bru stood up. "Will you be able to handle this on your own, Torrey?" "Bru, you can go stand watch with the elemental if you want!" "Oh good, it's so cute."

"It's a boulder."

"A cute one!" Bru walked off, greatsword in tow. Torrey began to give off mist. Torre was silent. Like all magic, elementalist magic was hard to understand. They were able to control the basic elements of the world and manipulate them, like mesmers could control illusions and other necromancers like himself could live off of the dead. "It wasn't until I emerged from the Pale Tree that I realized what I was," Torrey said. Torre focused back on her as she manipulated the water from the lake to his neck, still giving off a soft mist. "In the Dream, you learn about the world and what goes on in the world. But my Dream…my Dream contained a dragon. A fearsome shadow creature that could rot the world if it so chose. I fought it but I felt more in control. Emerging from the Tree could be compared to the human concept of birth but we aren't born. We emerge."

"I wanted to save the world. I realized I was more adept with a staff than anything else. Even though Bru and I are both members of the Pact, I'm actually a scholar of the Durmond Priory. My partner was another sylvari named Sieran. The Priory gave me all of the knowledge I needed to take on the world. I wanted the dragons eliminated, even if I had to risk my own life."

She turned to look at where Bru was with the elemental. Torre twisted himself to follow her gaze.

"I met her in Lion's Arch. The Priory had reason to believe that Zhaitan would be attacking there."

"The attack on Claw Island."

"Yes. Sieran and I rushed there to speak with the commander in charge of the fortress but it seems that someone had beat us to it. She was there with her partner, a charr much like yourself but older. They trusted each other and I couldn't believe that humans could be this lighthearted even in moments of crisis. Can you keep a secret?"

Torre pondered this. He never really had others close to him other than his warband and even then, he didn't tell them everything. "Yeah, you can tell me."

Torrey smiled. "You wouldn't know it from looking at her, but that girl is a high ranking member of the Order of Whispers."

Torre's body straightened up. She was a member of the Order? Members of the Order of Whispers were usually quiet and cunning, or so he was told. This human was in her white, gold, and blue armor with a smile on her face everywhere they went. She was the second in command of the Pact. Now he finds out that she's also an elite spy.

"A champion of Zhaitan attacked Claw Island that very day. We fought long and hard to save the fortress but there was no way we would all get out of there alive. Sieran…" Torrey paused, her hands trembling with water. "She…went in and held the gates down. Bru's partner went with her. They sacrificed themselves to save everyone. To this day, I wonder why it wasn't be. I saw that dragon in my Dream. Why couldn't I have been the one to save all of them?"

Torrey paused, looking back down at Torre. "I'm terribly sorry, I had no intention of telling you all of this, I just…" "It's fine." Torre returned her look. "You can continue."

Smiling, she brought more water to his neck. The water was both hot and cold, intense and soothing at the same time.

"If I wasn't the one who was meant to save everyone in an act of valor, I would do whatever I had to do to make sure that this world was safe from the dragons for good. Bru had become acquainted with Trahearne, a firstborn of the sylvari. They both agreed that uniting the orders was the best way to bring them down. I volunteered as a Priory representative with the permission of Gixx."

"I offered to partner with Bru on an expedition to the Straits. We got to know each other so well and we were so similar. She wanted the world to be safe and she would go to the farthest corners of Tyria if she had to. We stayed partners and have been working together ever since. She is truly my best friend."

Torre watched as the water went back to the lake and Torrey stood. "Well that about covers it! Your neck is perfectly healed!" She waved to Bru who came running back. "We're close enough to the Iron Marches that we can head there right now and camp when we get there."

"Your neck is healed? Perfect! Let's go!" Torrey and Bru linked arms and walked ahead of Torre. "Torrey is one of the best healers in the Pact." Torre felt his neck. There were no scars or marks on his neck. Whatever she had done, she had done with extreme precision. They walked until they made it to the wall that acted as a barricade between the plains and the Iron Marches. Torre flashed his clearance to the guard and they went through the hole in the wall.

After what felt like hours, they finally made it through. Torre led them to a small village on the lake where they were allowed to stay the night. They took up refuge in one of the iron huts, preparing to rest. "Torre could you te—" "I have a better idea. How about the two of you tell me a story."

The two looked at each other and grinned. "Of course!" Bru pulled a scarf out of her bag and two bottles of dye. She prepared the scarf for dyeing as she began. "We were at Fort Trinity when we got request to meet with the Marshal in the Silverwastes."


	3. The Legend

"It fits!"

"It's…big."

"Well your neck is big, so it fits!"

Bru stood on the tips of her toes and fussed with Torre's neck. "There! All the folds are in place." She stepped back to examine her work. The night before, Torre listened as Bru told him about their adventure in the Silverwastes. He also learned that this current mission, the one they were on, was one she volunteered for as the Pact prepared to venture deeper into Maguuma. He also noticed that Torrey's eyes were sad whenever Bru mentioned Maguuma.

Bru had also pulled out one of her Black Lion scarves and began dyeing it as she told her story. Torre picked up a part of the fabric. It was similar to Bru's scarf, but his was a deep brilliant emerald with thick black stripes. She walked over and hugged him. Torre's body stiffened up and Bru looked up. "Do charr not hug?" "Not really." Torrey giggled. "What did I say about giggling?" She stopped, but with an impish smile on her face.

"Alright, alright. That's enough. We're at the Wall." The Wall was a landmark structure in Ascalon. It divided the former primarily human area of Ashford and the more rural part of Ascalon, the Iron Marches. There were some remains of humans living but they were eradicated for the most part. The group approached the entrance where a charr was guarding the cave entrance. Torre signaled the two to follow him and lumbered towards the entrance when the guard stopped him. "Clearance." Torre's face went flat. He pulled out the clearance paper from Smodur and handed them over. The guard read the clearance and handed the paper back to Torre. As he went forward, the guard halted Bru and Torrey. "What's your problem now," Torre said and paused, looking over the charr. "Cub." The guard bristled slightly but was quick to brush it off.

"That paper is clearance for you, not the meat bag and the plant."

"They're acting as my group for this mission, so that clearance applies to them."

The charr huffed a laugh. "Well this is my post and I was given charge of this area. If I say they don't get clearance, they don't."

Torre stared at him.

"Is it alright if I speak with him?" Torrey stepped forward.

"This is already more effort than I'm used to, go ahead."

Torrey went to speak with the charr, who seemed wary of her. Torre sat on a rock and grunted. He was probably a young new recruit, Blood Legion from the look of his armor.

"She's amazing, isn't she?"

Torre turned to see Bru perched up on a rock next to him. She was so small next to him, he could probably knock her off with his tail. "Torrey is one of the most charming individuals I've ever met. She could charm a dragon minion, I think."

"I was the one who insisted she come with me on this mission. It was originally just supposed to be me."

"So, why did you insist on bringing her?"

"Well, this is a buffer mission. After the success with Vinewrath in the Silverwastes, Trahearne feels that we need to go deeper into Maguuma. Fighting Mordremoth from the outskirts will do nothing but if we can hit him directly in his chamber, we can finally slay him. Primordus isn't our main target right now but I wanted to suppress any destroyer influences before I left."

Torre couldn't see the problem until he processed her last few words.

Silence hung in the air.

"She's not going with you."

"No, she isn't."

It made sense to go alone. Torre was alone most of the time so he didn't see the problem. But Bru had a sad smile on her face, the kind that came with the crushing acceptance of one's present.

"After Scarlet attacked, everyone became wary of sylvari. After inspecting the crashing of the Zephyrite airship, Aerin's betrayal only confirmed their suspicions. We don't know anything about sylvari but we learn more and more every day. Sylvari are Mordrem. They are…sleeper minions, so to speak. The head theory right now is that they were to assimilate into Tyrian culture so that when he awoke, Mordremoth would have a greater advantage. It's almost like Zhaitan. Zhaitan gained an advantage by using the dead nation of Orr, only Mordremoth went one step further and created his army and hid them in plain sight. The Pale Tree is protecting them though, but not all."

"I don't understand. Why can't you bring her with?"

"There are rumors that…sylvari who venture into the Silverwastes and beyond…heed the call. They step foot into untouched Maguuma terrain and suddenly, they are overcome with the fierce desire to obey Mordremoth and fight for him."

Torre stayed silent. He understood everything now.

"My parents are dead. My brother is on an expedition to the Woodland Cascades to kill the centaurs and I don't know when or if I'll ever see him again. My partner sacrificed himself so that I could usher everyone out of Claw Island. Even if she were to reject his call, Torrey is not safe in Maguuma. They could think she's one of them, one of the minions. I've already lost everyone I care about, I'm not ready to lose someone again."

"Have you told her?"

"We had Gixx summon her to be the head researcher on Mordremoth at the same time I leave. She knows she's not going, but she doesn't know the real reason why."

Torre was amazed at how much these two cared about each other and they never knew to what extent. Their friendship was more than giggling and battling. They were truly each other's family.

"What about you?"

Torre looked down. "What about me."

"Charr have warbands, right?" "Right." "Where's yours?"

"Well when we pass through the Iron Marches, we might see them. We'll be going past the Brand and they're currently on active duty there."

Torrey walked back, a smile on her face. "It seems that young Mallus Steelgrace here was not aware of our mission! He was kind enough to allow us clearance to pass through the wall." They turned to look at him. Mallus had a dopey grin on his face and was giggling. "I didn't know charr could giggle!" Bru exclaimed. Torre furrowed his brow. "Keep up the good work, cub."

The trek through the wall took most of the morning. Torre barely made it through without bumping his head on the top, causing a few rocks to drop down. "So why is the wall so thick?" Torrey asked. "Back when Ascalon was ruled by humans, this was the wall surrounding the palace. Charr engineering and age collapsed the wall in many places, but it has yet to completely fall," Torre said. "What kind of human lineage are you anyway…Bru." Bru let out a small gasp. "What." "Torrey! He said my name!" "This is true progress!" "Are you going to answer or what?"

Bru beamed as she spoke. "I'm Krytan, through and through. Somewhere along my family tree, I remember my mother telling me I have a half-Canthan cousin. But I'll never meet them, I suppose, since Cantha is unreachable right now."

They reached the other side and were awed. The scenery in the Iron Marches was breathtaking. Lush golden red trees and soft pale grass were lined with steep cliffs of varying sizes. They looked to see a large lake with a village nearby. "Oh Torre, can we stay in the village?" "Please?" The two looked at him with eager eyes. "It's easier to keep going and make camp." "But we were in that cave all morning!" "Yes Torre, all morning!" "Oh don't start that." "Start what?" they both said. "We spoke at the same time!' "Amazing!" Bru and Torrey laughed while linking arms to keep walking.

Torre sighed. It would be easier to make camp, but it would be even easier to not argue with the two of them. "Alright, go to the village." They made their way to the village which was filled with charr. "Welcome to Dewclaw, my name is Timbus Netweaver. How can I help you?" "I'm Cen—" "Hello! My name is Bru and these are my companions. We were wondering if we could stay the night in your village?" The charr looked at them, suspiciously. "Listen human, we're a fishing village but if this is some Separatist plot, you better move your hide before I make you leave." "Oh no, this is official Pact business and the charr/human treaty is in the best interest of the Pact. I would do nothing of the sort to prevent that from happening."

Timbus raised a brow and gave a half smile. "Alright, you can stay in my domain. Just don't make a mess." Torrey and Bru took their belongings with them as they followed him into the hut. Torre stayed behind, getting the rest of the bags. "—turion Torre Deathblood. I am on official Pact business. We would like to request use of any barracks you have available for the night."

Torre, Bru, and Torrey spent the afternoon fishing with the locals and preparing more food for their journey. They joined the village for a great feast during dinner while Bru told them stories of Orr. Suddenly, a villager ran in on the dinner. "Timbus, quick. Flame Legion are at the Searing Cauldron." "Damn those miserable…get everyone in the village ready." "What's going on?" Torrey asked. "The downside of this location is that we're directly across from the Searing Cauldron. The Flame Legion have been trying to take it back for years." Bru got up and grabbed a separate holster scabbard, much wider than the one she had been using for her zenith sword. "We'll help you. We have personal business with the Flame Legion. I represent the Pact and I will not stand by while they try and harm you all." Torrey grabbed her staff and nodded. Timbus chuckled. "You're alright for a meat sack, Commander." Torre grabbed his staff and his scepter. His dagger rested in his belt. "Are you two ready for this?" he asked. "The Flame Legion can be merciless." "Of course we are, you got to have all the fun last time." Bru said.

They ran outside and saw the Flame Legion already on the piers of the docks to the village. "Ah, Torre Deathblood," one said. "We heard about you. You took out one of our agents near your smarmy citadel." Torre remembered the charr who sent up a signal fire. He must have been warning his superiors. He should have killed the damn fool when he had the chance. "Well if you knew I was coming, I'm glad you're giving me such a warm welcome," Torre said lazily. "The name is Lucius Sparkclaw," the dark colored charr said. "I tell you this because I want everyone here to know who put an end to this pathetic centurion." Lucius raised a sword with a guttural chant and turned the blade into pure fire.

"Halt."

Torre stopped and saw Bru come forward with Torrey behind her. "Get out o—" "By order of the Pact, I command you to stand down." Lucius laughed with a snarl. "A human! Charr don't need humans and this makes you even less of one, Deathblood. You brought this disgusting creature and her pet plant to beat me?" Bru smirked and brought the scabbard in front of her. She gripped the hilt and placed her other hand on the scabbard. "Sunrise, come to me," she whispered.

The hilt glowed a dull gold as she released it from the holster. Torre was in awe. The commander had possession of the legendary sword, Sunrise. The blade itself was rumored to have been forged from the clouds in the dawn sky. The blade itself seemed unreal as if the early morning sky was encased and forged into the hilt. Behind her. Torrey slammed her staff down and sent the earth before Lucius to shiver and quake. "Torre." "What are your orders, Commander."

"Are you ready for this fight?"

Torre grinned as he pulled out his scepter. "Awaiting orders, Commander."


End file.
